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Solidarity with Whitechapel Anarchists! Brick Lane, London, Sun 14 Dec

Peter Marshall | 15.12.2008 20:22 | Repression

Last week, police harassed anarchists giving out their free newsletter in Brick Lane, London. This week, things were quieter as others turned up to give support. Pictures (C) Peter Marshall, 2008, all rights reserved.

Handing out the Newsletter at Brick Lane
Handing out the Newsletter at Brick Lane

Not everybody took one
Not everybody took one

Protesters photograph police who question a youth
Protesters photograph police who question a youth

Shortly after this the youth was put in a van and driven away
Shortly after this the youth was put in a van and driven away


The full range of police units seemed to be out around Brick Lane on Sunday - and even at least one man who works for MI6 was claimed to have been spotted watching from a distance and making a phone call - but he may just have been out doing his Christmas shopping.

Members of Whitechapel Anarchist Group were harassed by police while distributing their newsletter last Sunday and had put out a call for support, and around 20 people turned up to stand around on the rather cold street near the bagel shops. This week the police were there again, but mainly stood back and watched from across the road, a police officer taking pictures of all who were there with a very long lens.

Many of those walking along Brick Lane seemed interested in the WAG newsletter and took a copy from the dozen or so people handing them out.

The police group with the photographer moved across the road and stood on the corner of Brick Lane. Apparently one young man, urged on by his friends, went and stood in front of the officer taking pictures, and was hauled off a few yards down Bethnal Green Road. I followed and took pictures keeping out of the way as the police questioned him and several of the anarchists questioned the police over their action while others took pictures of them from a closer range.

After a few minutes the young man was marched across the road and taken away in a waiting police van.

The police were obviously there expecting trouble, but there wasn't anything happening. People do find their photographic activities a harassment, and they do provoke sometimes rather silly retaliation, but the issue of the country becoming a surveillance society is an important one. In a recent court case involving one of those present on Brick Lane the police admitted to compiling and keeping a photographic database in which they could look up people and see which demonstrations they had attended.

Of course I publish a list of my own such activities myself, though that doesn't stop them repeatedly taking my picture, rather than simply looking on My London Diary!

Clearly their activities around Brick Lane today were a waste of public money, and worse than that. They don't make us any safer and were not combating any real threat to public order. If they have an agenda it is purely political.


Peter Marshall
- e-mail: petermarshall@cix.co.uk
- Homepage: http://mylondondiary.co.uk

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

interesting, bet this wasnt on msm,main stream news

15.12.2008 20:46

if this had been the bnp the mainstream media would have been allover it

james


How Police tactics worked on me

15.12.2008 20:56

When I first started going on demos I was a pacifist and thought the Police were 'only doing their job', outside of politics always was polite and helpful to any police I ever ran into. After being repeatedly confronted by invasive and aggressive cops on protests they changed me. Nowadays I wouldn't report a crime or tell a cop anything, even if it would be better for me if I did,

There tactics don't work, I'd lie in court to get off the local smack dealer rather than allow them any success.

(A)CAB


(A)CAB

16.12.2008 00:15

Interesting. I stopped going to football matches for the same reason. The thuggery of the supporters at one game was horrific. It did leave me with feeling of never wanting to help a football supporter ever again. But then i realised people are individuals so I try to judge them like that.

cole


Cops aren't individuals...

16.12.2008 01:19

...the are representatives of an authoritarian organisation. In effect they are the state when they are in their uniforms. Outside of work they can be ok (usually pretty right-wing but not all "bad" people). But when they are in uniform they aren't individuals any longer. They all operate following the same orders and the same ethos (which is often quite different to official guidelines). It doesn't matter what the order is, they will follow it. The crux of it is that when they put on their uniform they are voluntarily giving up their right to make individual descisions, so are no longer in any real sense an individual.

@


cops

16.12.2008 02:30

Cops are ok? It is actually the controllers who give the orders? The politicians, who are the bad ones?

cole


squat yr local woolies

16.12.2008 02:46

plagarise & redistribute as we'll be doing with the means of production, coming to a town and city where you live soon...

failing that, you could always squat yr local Woolies-

funking bar steward